Whirlpool bath - regs

[benwhite]

Hi All,

I searched for this through the forums - lots of info came up but none seemed to be recent.

I have a whirlpool bath and it needs connecting to the ring main. The ring main passes through the wall of the bathroom - there are a couple of sockets on the outside of the bathroom wall.

Obviously the pump needs connecting through an FCU from the ring and there should be an RCD in the circuit somewhere too. A plumber that recenly visited said the regs had changed to insist for an RCD FCU even if the circuit is already protected by an RCD at the comsumer unit.

My house is only 10 years old and all circuits are protected by RCDs at the CU anyway, so my question is:

1) Do the regs stipulate that the FCU must be an RCD FCU, even if the circuit is already protected by an RCD?

2) I see no harm in using an RCD FCU anyway (just to be on the safe side). In this case is another switch required for "general use". E.g. a pullcord switch to be used for day-to-day on/off switching. This would allow the RCD FCU to be always "on" and we could just use the pullcord in the same way as one would for an electric shower.

I am aware of Part P, etc so I plan to do this work myself and then get the Part P approval certificate from a sparky.

Cheers,
Ben

 

[Spark123]

There is no need to have a 2nd RCD, they will require some form of isolation - usually double poled. What do the instructions say?
I doubt an electrician will sign off your work as his own.

 

[electronicsuk]

A plumber that recenly visited said the regs had changed to insist for an RCD FCU even if the circuit is already protected by an RCD at the comsumer unit.

He has no idea what he's talking about.

1) Do the regs stipulate that the FCU must be an RCD FCU, even if the circuit is already protected by an RCD?

No, not at all, assuming the RCD protecting the ring final is rated for 30mA trip.

2) I see no harm in using an RCD FCU anyway (just to be on the safe side). In this case is another switch required for "general use". E.g. a pullcord switch to be used for day-to-day on/off switching. This would allow the RCD FCU to be always "on" and we could just use the pullcord in the same way as one would for an electric shower.

Why? It will be a complete waste of money, as there is no way that two 30mA RCDs on the same circuit will discriminate. Use a double pole switched fused connection unit on the outside of the bathroom. Functional switching will be provided by the switch on the bath itself.

I am aware of Part P, etc so I plan to do this work myself and then get the Part P approval certificate from a sparky.

As above, it's unlikely you'll find anyone who will do this for you. Besides, it's a small job for an electrician, so it's likely there would be very little difference in cost regardless of who did the work.

 

[Taylortwocities]

No such thing as a Part P Approval certificate.

The electrician who does the work will give you a n installation certificate to state that the work complies with the relavent wiring regulations (usually its BS7671).

Then he will notify the local authority that he has done the work in a special location (ie bathroom). He needs to do this to comply with the requirements of Building Regulations Part P. Per the above, he is only allowed to notify his own work, not work done by a third party.

Now, you can do all this but you'll need special test equipment and a lot of knowledge. You'd have to tell the local authority that you're going to do teh work (before you start!) and then they will charge you a large fee and should check what you are doing and should test and certifiy it for you (I said should!).

Your best bet is to find a spark and agree to do some of the grunt work for him. There's registered sparks in your area at www.competentperson.co.uk